Haitham bin Tariq Al Said was announced as Sultan of Oman on 11 January 2020, following the death of Sultan Qaboos
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said was born on 13th October 1954 and is the grandson of Sultan Taimur bin Faisal bin Turki Al Said. His immediate predecessor, Sultan Qaboos, was his first cousin (Sultan Haitham’s father, Sayyid Tariq and Sultan Qaboos’s father, Sultan Said, were brothers – Sayyid is broadly the equivalent of prince when used in Oman, and Sultan is a monarch). Sultan Haitham’s father Tariq bin Taimur Al Said was Oman’s Prime Minister in 1970-71 and held various other government posts both before then and after.
Sultan Haitham undertook Pembrook Colledge Oxford Foreign Service Programme in 1979. Between 1996-2002 he was Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 2002 he was Oman’s Minister for Heritage & Culture.
Sultan Haitham has four children, whose role has been updated,
including Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, who was a diplomat in the Omani embassy in London and is now Minister of Sports, –
Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said, an architect, and is appointed as Governor of Muscat . Sayyida Thuraya bint Haitham Al Said & Sayyida Omaima bint Haitham Al Said are the two Daughters of Sultan Haitham and his wife Sayyida Ahad bint Abdullah bin Hamad Al Busaidiyah (Sayyida when used in Oman is broadly a Princess).
Sultan Haitham is the Chairman of the main Oman 2040 committee; 2040 is a focus on creating an Oman able to compete successfully in the modern world and to support its citizens.
Remarkably Sultan Haitham is a fan of Cricket and a member of the Cricket Club of India. Less surprising is that he was President of the Oman Football Association between 1983 – 1986.
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